SENIOR AIR HOSTESS

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28250, 11 April 1957, Page 2

SENIOR AIR HOSTESS

Christchurch Girl’s Appointment

A Christchurch girl, Miss Raima B. Woodsford, of Beckenham, has been appointed the first New Zealand head of the National Airways Corporation’s air hostess staff. The general manager of the corporation (Mr J. J. Busch) i announced this in Christchurch * yesterday, and said that Miss; Woodsford would take up her' new appointment at the end of' this week.

Miss Woodsford is assistantsenior air hostess for the corpora- i tion. She will succeed Miss Delores Kay, an Australian, who, has resigned her position to re--turn to Australia to be married. l A former student at Christchurch West ..High School where she was a member of the first

hockey XI, Miss Woodsford had experience as an air hostess with Trans-Australia Airlines before she returned to New Zealand last year to take up her present position. Most of her flying experience has been in turbo-prop Viscount aircraft which the corporation will introduce to the Christchurch - Auckland trunk route later in the year. Graduation Ceremony

The announcement of Miss Woodsford’s appointment was made yesterday morning at a function to mark the graduation after training of a new group of air hostesses. The graduates received their diploma from Mr Busch and flying badges from Miss Kay. They were: Misses Jenifer Day (Wairarapa), Jean Stuart (Marlborough), Marie Wyke (Christchurch), Margaret Hart (Auckland), Jean Newdick (Wellington), Clare Higinbottom (Temuka), Lorna Clark (Christchurch), and Pamela Matthews (Palmerston North). The average age of the new hostesses is between 22 and 23 years.

Mr Busch, who flew from Wellington to Harewood specially for the function, said that since hostesses were introduced to the corporation’s routes passenger traffic figures had shown a marked increase. The increase was attributed .mainly to the number of elderly persons and mothers with young children who had previously preferred not to fly because there was no-one to assist them during their travelling. The graduating group was the second since the corporation introduced hostesses. Of the 16 young women who are now flying on DC-3 main trunk routes one is already engaged to be married, and will resign before July. The next training course foi hostesses will probably start in July or August but no official announcement has been made. Eventually, it is hoped to build up the strength of the air hostesses to 30 to cover all trunk routes.